Various types of modules, packages or other electronic circuit structures are utilized in the electronics industry. Such modules or packages are employed in a variety of electronic devices including, for example, personal computers, communication devices, and military devices such as radar and armament control systems. Electronic circuit structures such as multi-chip module (MCM) circuit structures and multilayer circuit structures are often formed of a dielectric material such as a low temperature co-fired ceramic (LTCC) dielectric tape. Some of these structures include cavities which may be used for mounting semiconductor devices. The rest of the outer surface of the structure may be used to mount capacitors, inductors, varistors and other electronic components or devices. Such surface mounting takes a lot of room, can result in conductor lines that are too long, and can lead to reliability problems.
In the prior art, the electronic components are fully formed and fired prior to their addition to the fired LTCC dielectric tape structure or stack. It would be desirable to have a method that yielded a monolithic circuit structure wherein the dielectric tape and the electronic components are subjected to a single simultaneous firing operation.